Longtime Brevard county leader, educator Joe Lee Smith dies at 89
By Michelle Spitzer and Dave Berman
Longtime Rockledge City Councilman, educator and Brevard County leader Joe Lee Smith died the morning of Sept. 1. He was 89.
Smith served the city of Rockledge for 36 years before deciding not to seek reelection in Nov. 2019. His longtime mentee, Michael Cadore, won the vacant seat.
“He meant so much to so many people,” Cadore told FLORIDA TODAY the evening of Sept. 1 while he mourned the loss of Smith, whom Cadore met when he was 12. “His legacy as a great man will endure with everyone. As soon as I shed a tear, a smile comes to my face because I remember the impact he had on me and so many people.”
Smith was admitted to hospice about a week ago, Cadore said. He is surived by his wife of 63 years Altamese, two children, two granchildren and three great grandchildren. A child and grandchild preceeded him in death.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Taylor Funeral Home and Cremation, but were not finalized as of Tuesday.
Joe Lee Smith’s impact on Brevard County
During his tenure on the Rockledge City Council, Smith served three years as council chairman and also served as deputy mayor. In 2000, he retired from Brevard Community College, known today as Eastern Florida State College.
He was recruited out of retirement to serve as provost for the college’s Palm Bay campus. When he finally retired for good in 2017, he was named a college ambassador.
The longtime teacher, assistant principal, dean and coach also served as provost of all four of Eastern Florida State College’s campuses.
Smith, a Cocoa native, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. He then obtained the rank of 1-A Educational Specialist, as well as his doctoral degree in educational administration and supervision in higher education, from the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Smith was a member of various civic and nonprofit organizations.
He was a founder of Central Brevard Recreation Association. He has served on boards of directors of the United Way of Brevard County, First Union/Wachovia National Bank, the Salvation Army, Circles of Care, Rolling Readers, and the Boys and Girls Club.
Among the awards he received are the Brevard Community College Distinguished Service Award; the Humanitarian Award from Onyx magazine; and the United Third Bridge Puerto Rican Taino Award for his work to advance the Hispanic community in Brevard County. He also was inducted into the Brevard County Space Coast Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame, and received the 2013 South Brevard NAACP Lifetime Achievement/Living Legend Award.